Confused about various opinions from your friends, family, and neighborhood buddies regarding the worms that can infect your dog or cat and how? Here are the facts about some prevalent misconceptions regarding pet worm infection that can help you in taking preventive actions for your pet and can save them from the attacks of these pesky parasites.
1. Myth: Humans are protected against worms that affect pets and cannot get infected from their pet buddies.
Fact: The worm infection in your pet can adversely affect your and your family’s health too.
- Kids of the house are the ones spending the highest amount of time with your pup or kitten. And they can get the hookworm or roundworm infection from their buddies.
- Practicing these common steps regularly can prevent the spread of worm infection from your pet to you and your family:
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- Wash hands after playing with your furry pal and before meal to protect your food from getting contaminated.
- The sandpits in your backyard need to be covered after your kids’ play so that your pups do not poo in them.
- Make it a practice to clean the space daily after your pets defecate.
- Deworm your pets on regular basis in order to keep them and yourself protected from the worm infection.
2. Myth: Worms cannot reproduce fast and take time in multiplying
Fact: There are worms that can lay two hundred thousand eggs every day in the initial weeks of infection.
- The eggs of worms can stay alive and remain infectious in the environment for a very long time.
- Your pets may be asymptomatic to the worm infection. But their poop in open will put other animals and people in the close vicinity at risk of contracting the infection.
- The worms can multiply in your pup or kitty very fast and can make them sick. Some worms can prove to be fatal also.
3. Myth: Heartworms in majority of the cases are not deadly in dogs.
Fact: Heartworms, in serious conditions, can lead to the death of your pup.
- Your pup can contract heartworm disease by a single bite from an infected mosquito. And this can have a devastating impact on the pet’s health.
- Heartworms live longer compared to the other worms and can grow to as long as 27 cm in length.
- The symptoms of a heartworm infection can start with simple coughing and fatigue in your pup and can lead to loss of appetite and, thus, weight loss. In extreme cases, the pet will feel short of breath that may lead to death.
4. Myth: Cats are not prone to heartworms and do not need protection.
Fact: Cats are as much at risk as dogs when it comes to heartworm infection.
- Cats can get infected with heartworm and take a long time to get healed. The cost of treatment is also high. Taking steps for heartworm prevention instead will benefit your kitty.
- Some felines will not show any symptoms of the infection while the others may show symptoms like anemia, coughing, vomiting, diarrhea and loss of appetite.
- Heartworm infection can be deadly for the cats when left untreated.
5. Myth: Cats do not get infected by lungworms. Lungworm infection is not worrisome.
Fact: Lungworms can prove to be life threatening in cats.
- It is not just heartworm infection that can kill cats. Lungworms can prove to be equally fatal if not treated or prevented in the first place.
- If your kitty loves to play outdoors, she can end up ingesting earthworms, snails or slugs. And if any of them are lungworm infected, they can in turn infect your kitty.
- The majority of time, your feline will not show any symptoms or whatever mild symptoms she will show, can be misunderstood for hairballs also.
- Lungworms can lead to symptoms like coughing, breathing difficulties due to damage in lungs.
6. Myth: In-house pets are safer from worms compared to the ones who have exposure to the outer environment.
Fact: Though less vulnerable, indoor pets are not completely protected from the worms. There are multiple ways in which the worms can enter your home and can infect your dog or cat even if they stay inside the home majority of the time.
- Pets can be born with worms from their infected mother. They can also contract the intestinal worm infection while lactating from their worm infected mother.
- The limited outside exposure that your pup or kitten gets while venturing out for the daily walk or exercise is enough to infect them. The worms can find their way to your buddy’s body via fur and skin from pavement, walkway or the sand in the park where they play, or from the insect bite.
- The worms can land into your pet’s stomach when they play with toys that may have worm larvae or while grooming.
- If the pets eat other insects or small animals like lizards or mice or if they eat meat that is not properly cooked, this can also pose a risk of worm infection.
- Living in a dry or warm climate area does not make your pet more or less prone to any worm infection. It takes just one bite from the infection-carrying mosquito to infect your pup or kitty with heartworm.
7. Myth: Worms are hard to avoid and parasite protection for the pets is very troublesome.
Fact: Taking right steps can help in keeping the worms away from your pet.
- If possible, do not give your pet raw meat and keep them away from eating small animals or rodents.
- Keep your pet occupied with multiple activities and give them enough nutritional food so that they do not look for hunting small animals.
- Keep your backyard poo-free, clean it regularly.
- Keep your pet’s bed and kennel clean.
- Keep the sandpit covered when not in use.
- Wash your hands thoroughly after playing with your buddy and when you go for a meal.
Concluding note:
There are many myths regarding worm infection in dogs and cats. Keeping yourself well aware of how the infection is contracted, what are the symptoms and what can be done to prevent the infection will help in keeping your pet healthy and happy.
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